Singapore Field Trip(May 30 - June 3, 2016)

Group 6 Nature TrailsChow Lai Him (Mark)*Lam Lit Man (Alex) Tsang Hin Tung (Alex) Li Choi Chi (Amber) Tsang Chui Shan (Jade)

Nature Trails (June 2, 2016)

Imbiah Nature Trail

MacRitchie Nature Trail

Telok Blangah Hill (Night walk)

Imbiah Nature Trail● located in Sentosa Island● 1.85km long● Opened to public since 1970s● For education & research● Rare tree species & endangered species

of Nepenthes● Secondary forest

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History of SentosaBefore 1819: mostly uninhabited

1819: British opened the free port

(Sentosa was known as Pulau Blakang Mati)

1846: land cleared for pineapple cultivation

1878: British forts and millitary installations constructed

1942-1945: Japan invaded Singapore during WWII

1945: Temporary naval shore station

1967: After independence, became Singapore Armed Forces’ School of Field Engineers

1968: Demobilised as a military base

1972: Renamed as Sentosa (Malay term: peace and tranquility), for tourism and recreation

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Photo by Edwin Kwok

Adenanthera pavonina● Fast-growing legume tree● Up to 25m tall● Creamy-yellow star-shaped flowers● Dark brown pods ● Toxic raw seeds● Unit of measure: 4 seeds = 1 gram

Heritage Tree in Botanic Garden

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Alocasia odora (Elephant Ear)

● Family: Araceae● Evergreen herb● Used as food and ornamental● Contains calcium oxalate crystals(toxic)● Medical use of rhizomes: treatment of

stomachache, abdominal pain, cholera

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Kopsia singapurensis● Family: Apocynaceae

○ connated petals in salverform○ opposite leaves

● Small evergreen tree (5-6m tall)● Native to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia● Traditional medicine● Vulnerable

○ Stress: Housing & urban area development, logging & wood harvesting

○ Reduction of habitat

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Ixonanthes reticulata● Common name: Ten men tree

● Evergreen tree, up to 40m tall

● Narrow buttresses

● Hard & heavy wood

● Native, common, cultivated

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Pavo cristatus (Indian peafowl)

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Female Male

Introduced species

Insects

Dragonfly Cicada (Cicada Slough) Ants

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Fungi 13

Educational Facilities

● Sentosa Nature Discovery● Provide the history, rocks,

habitats and species information

● Display boards● Target: public● Encourage visitors to

observe during exploration

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Before entering Imbiah trail, we saw...

Education

● Information boards

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Education

● Information boards

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Education● Information boards

(Be an animal detective)

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Education● Information boards (Be an animal detective)

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Education● Information boards (Be an animal detective)

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Education

● Applications (Apps)

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Education

● Information boards

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Introduce special tree species

Teach you how to conserve the rainforests

Guide you to look at Imbiah trees (common or rare)

Teach you how to recognise the trees by leaf size & colour, trucks and roots

Remind you to investigate leaf litters, seeds, insects, birds and other animals in forest

Introduce ferns, fungi, lichens and mosses

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Maps: Provide visitors's locations and prevent them get lost

Display the model of bird nest

Display the model of seeds to attract visitors

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Locational advantages of Imbiah Trail

● Located in Sentosa Island● Near to tourist sites e.g. Universal

Studios Singapore, Siloso Beach● Good transport (Cable cars, MRT,

public buses,Sentosa Express, taxi)● Attract visitors to explore nature● Ecotourism● Nature conservation and economic

development in one island

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MacRitchie

Nature Trail

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Google Maps (2016). [MacRitchie Nature Trail, Singapore] [Street map]. Retreieved from https://www.google.com.hk/maps/place/MacRitchie+Nature+Trail/@1.3526386,103.7593086,12z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sMacRitchie+Nature+Trail!3m4!1s0x0000000000000000:0x8bdba8588cbee21b!8m2!3d1.345739!4d103.8365614

MacRitchie

● Singapore’s largest and oldest reservoir (Constructed in 1867)

● Parks and nature reserves● Treetop Walks: 250m long● Nature Trail: 11km long● Outdoor activities: Water sports,

fishing, hiking, bird watching, exercise

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Layered structure of the tropical rainforest

● Unclear emergent layer compared with primary forest

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● Undergrowth and ground layer● Mosses and fungi● Not much sunlight

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Special features of plants

● Large buttress roots● Can stand as high as 15 feet● Support tall trees● Get more nutrients● Adaptation to rainforest

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Special features of plants

● Swollen maroon stipules● Found in Common Mahang● Produce food which is rich in

lipids and proteins● Feed ants(Crematogaster)● Ants protect the plant from

other herbivores and fungal pathogens

● Mutualism

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Lianas

● Woody climber● Start at forest floor● Climb along other plants● Reach sunlight-rich environment● Not harmful to the trees

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Galeopterus variegatus(Sunda flying lemur)

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● Family: Cynocephalidae● Forest-dependent species● Habitat: evergreen forests● Feed on fruits● Sleep on trees during the day● Population decline● Protected by national legislation

Gallus gallus (Red junglefowl)13

● Family: Phasianidae● Original wild chicken● Hybridization and

domestication by human(thousands of years)

● Native to SE Asia● Endangered in Singapore

Eutropis multifasciata(Common Sun Skink)

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● Family : Scincidae● Smooth, scaled skins● 36cm long● Feed on insects● Habitat:

Primary/Secondary forests● Widespread and common

Macaca fascicularis(Long-tailed macaque)

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● Family : Cercopithecidae● Feed on leaves, fruits, small

size of mammals and birds● Can live for 31 years● Habitats: primary +

secondary forests, mangroves, agricutural lands

● Widespread and abundant

Insects

Ypthima baldus newboldi(Common Fivering)

Pseudagrion microcephalum(Blue riverdamsel)

Dragonfly Cricket

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Management and Facilities● Visitors have specific routes e.g.Trails

and Treetop walk to walk● Oberve the forest in different ways● Minimise soil and water erosion● Minimise disturbance to wildlife

Treetop Walk

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Map and Trail Manners to visitors

Fishing is not allowed in this area(nature reserve)!

Introduce Tembusu to you!

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Don’t get lost and seehow long did you walk already?

No pets, No smoking, No bicycles please!

Beware of MONKEYS!Keep your food in bags!

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Telok Blangah HillExplore the sound and soul of the forest in the dark

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Diversity

Toad

Ahaetulla Felis catus

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● mildly venomous with rear fangs● slender body, triangular head,

keyhole shaped pupils● diurnal● diet: lizards, frogs & rodents

Hammerhead worms● genus Bipalium● nocturnal ● shape of head resembles to a hammer● tetrodotoxin was recorded in some species● hermaphroditic● predatory:

○ diet: earthworms, mollusks○ tracking→uses muscles & secretions to

adhere itself to the prey→ turn pharynx inside out & secrete enzymes for digestion→ suck the liquefied tissues

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Insects Parade- Ants

● genus Solenopsis (fire ants)● brown head, brown body & darker abdomen● consume dead animals & sweet food● Nest= mound of 40 cm high● react aggressively towards stimulant→

exact a painful sting→blister after 48 hours● major pest in agriculture & city

worker

queen

male

work from S.E. Thorpe

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Insects Parade- Wasps● bees, ants & wasps are paraphyletic● eusocial● harmful stings & warning coloration (black & yellow)

○ Batesian mimicry○ Müllerian mimicry

● build nests beneath leaves/ branches● only nest maintenance & brood care continues during the

night

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Special Design of Facilities

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● Elevated walkway of Forest Walk○ same eye level with the canopy layer○ with interspace: for light & water droplets penetration○ minimum artificial light: dim, does not point outwards

● Social conception of nature○ for health, recreation, economic resources, asthetics, scientific research○ consumerable form, objectification○ replacement of primitive nature to artificial (commercial?) nature✔ improve quality of life❌ not “real” conservation

Indulge in the beauty of the secondary forests at the fringes of Telok Blangah Hill Park by trekking the Forest

Walk - National Parks Board

& What’s More Behind

Secondary forest

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secondary forest

primary forest

Deforestationagricultural land

Abandoned

Secondary forest

● lower biodiversity○ slow recovery rate

○ challenges in re-colonization:

fragmented landscape, lack of seed dispersers

○ depletion of soil nutrients & soil erosion

➔ domination of some plant species

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Secondary forest

Simpoh Ayer,Dillenia suffruticosa

Wang LK (n.d.). Adinandra dumosa. Retrieved from http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/365

Wang LK (n.d.). Dicranopteris linearis. Retrieved from http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/417

Long-lived pioneer:Tiup-tiup tree, Adinandra dumosa

Dense thickets formers:Resam fern, Dicranopteris linearis &

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Wang LK (n.d.). Dillenia suffruticosa. Retrieved from http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/362

Telok Blangah Hill

● 60 hectares urban forest (red)

● surrounded by traffics, residences and industrial buildings

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Google Maps (2016). [Telok Blangah Hill, Singapore] [Satellite map]. Retreieved from https://www.google.com.hk/maps/place/Telok+Blangah+Hill+Park/@1.2785178,103.8106982,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x31da1bdaf58d556b:0x35699ad324d5c58!8m2!3d1.2785124!4d103.8128869

Land-Sharing/Sparing● integration/segregation of production system and nature

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King A and Cole B (2006). Singapore Satellite Image. Retreieved from http://geology.com/world/singapore-satellite-image.shtml

King A and Cole B (2006). Hong Kong Satellite Image. Retreieved from http://geology.com/world/hong-kong-satellite-image.shtml

Google Maps (2016). [Singapore] [Hybrid map]. Retreieved from https://www.google.com.hk/maps/place/%E6%96%B0%E5%8A%A0%E5%9D%A1/@1.31507,103.7069302,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x31da11238a8b9375:0x887869cf52abf5c4!8m2!3d1.352083!4d103.819836

Google Maps (2016). [Hong Kong] [Hybrid map]. Retreieved from https://www.google.com.hk/maps/place/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF/@22.3580723,113.8408114,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3403e2eda332980f:0xf08ab3badbeac97c!8m2!3d22.396428!4d114.109497

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Species A & B:higher density in farmland (benefited from farming, winner)

Species C & D:lower population (loser)

Population density to food energy yield, and their frequency among birds and trees in southwest Ghana (Gh) and northern India (In).

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More species were negatively affected by agriculture

Species with small global ranges: stronger effect

Trade-offs: Land sharing

● higher biodiversity within urbanized region

● habitat fragmentation● homogenizing landscapes

favours generalist, affects specialist → lower overall diversity?● more disturbances from human

e.g. light pollution (telok blangah)

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Trade-offs: Land sparing

● economic advantages:○ compacted urbanization reduces transport time ○ require less land area which is scarce

● less habitat fragmentation & disturbances from human

● species richness increase with:increasing habitat area & habitat diversity

● ecological integrity of a reserve remain intact with increasing reserve area and habitat diversity

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● unbalanced preservation (original natural habitat may be heterogeneous)

→ no protection of flatland habitat

● high population density in urban area → public hygiene/enviroment problems

Trade-offs: Land sparing

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Motivation from citizens

● Greening of Singapore: motivated by economical & environmental factors and citizens

● Being a Garden City:improves Singapore’s global competitivenessenhances quality of life

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Reflection

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ReferencesAhaetulla (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Wikipedia. Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahaetulla

Baker N (n.d.). Long-tailed Macaque. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Ecology Asia. Website: http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/long-tailed_macaque.htm

Baker N (n.d.). Many-lined Sun Skink. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Ecology Asia. Website: http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/lizards/many-lined_sun_skink.htm

Bipalium (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Wikipedia. Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipalium

Boeadi and Steinmetz R (2008). Galeopterus variegatus. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Versin 2015-4. Website: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41502/0

Butler R (2012). Vines and Lianas. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Mongabay. Website: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0406.htm

Chua SC et al. (2013). Slow recovery of a secondary tropical forest in Southeast Asia. Forest Ecology and Management, 308, 153–160.

Chua LSL (1998). Kopsia singaporensis. Retrieved June 5, 2016, from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015-4. Website: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/31758/0

Corlett RT (2000). Environmental heterogeneity and species survival in degraded tropical landscapes. In Hutchings MJ, John EA, Stewart AJ (ed.) The ecological consequences of environmental heterogeneity, pp. 333-355. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

ReferencesEkroos J et al. (2016). Sparing Land for Biodiversity at Multiple Spatial Scales. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 3, 145.

Fern K (n.d.). Adenanthera pavonina. Retrieved June 14, 2016, from The Useful Tropical Plants Database. Website: http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Adenanthera pavonina

Fern K (n.d.). Ixonanthes reticulata. Retrieved June 14, 2016, from The Useful Tropical Plants Database. Website: http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ixonanthes+reticulata

Fern K (n.d.). Alocasia odora. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from The Useful Tropical Plants Database. Website: http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Alocasia+odora

Fire ant (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Wikipedia. Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_ant

Geoffrey Davison (2007). Urban Forest Rehabilitation – A Case Study from Singapore. In Don Koo Lee (ed.), IUFRO World Series Bol. 20-1: Keep Asia Green Volume 1 “Southeast Asia”, pp. 171-182. Vienna: IUFRO Headquarters.

Gonthier DJ et al. (2014). Biodiversity conservation in agriculture requires a multi-scale approach. The Royal Society, 281, 1791.

Hakim J (n.d.). Common Sun Skink. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Reptiles and Amphibians of Bangkok. Website: https://bangkokherps.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/common-sun-skink/

ReferencesHulme MF et al. (2013). Conserving the Birds of Uganda’s Banana-Coffee Arc: Land Sparing and Land Sharing Compared. PLoS ONE, 8(2): e54597.

JungleBoy (2013). Differences between primary and secondary rainforest. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Rainforest Journal. Website: http://www.rainforestjournal.com/differences-between-primary-and-secondary-rainforest/

Kong L and Yeoh BSA (1996). Social constructions of nature in urban Singapore. Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 34(2), 402-423.

Lang KC (2006). Long-tailed macaque. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Primate Info Net. Website: http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/long-tailed_macaque

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (n.d.). Secondary Forest. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from The Digital Nature Archive of Singapore. Website: http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/habitats/details/18

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (n.d.). Kopsia singapurensis. Retrieved June 14, 2016, from The Digital Nature Archive of Singapore. Website: http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/546

Mayntz M (2016). Red Junglefowl. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from About. Website: http://birding.about.com/od/birdprofiles/p/Red-Junglefowl.htm

ReferencesNational Parks Board (n.d.). MacRitchie Reservoir Park. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from NParks. Website: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/macritchie-reservoir-park

Phalan B, Onial M, Balmford A, Green RE (2011). Reconciling Food Production and Biodiversity Conservation: Land Sharing and Land Sparing Compared. Science, 33, 1289-1291.

Puccio P (n.d.). Kopsia singapurensis (Beltramini M, Trans.). Retrieved June 14, 2016, from Photomazza: Giuseppe Mazza. Website: http://www.photomazza.com/?Kopsia-singapurensis&lang=en

Singapore Tourism Board (n.d.). MacRitchie Nature Trail & Reservoir Park. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from YourSingapore. Website: http://www.yoursingapore.com/see-do-singapore/nature-wildlife/reserves/macritchie-nature-reserve.html

Sodhi NS, Koh LP, Brook BW and Ng PKL (2004). Southeast Asian biodiversity: an impeding disaster. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19, 654-660.

Tan R (2009). Red junglefowl. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from Wildfactsheets. Website: http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/birds/gallus.htm

Wasp Removal UK (n.d.). Advice and info about wasps, hornets and bees. Retrieved June 22, 2016. Website: http://www.wasp-removal.com/wasp-answers5.php

The EndThank You